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Adam Portraiture Award and Exhibition

The Adam Foundation sponsors a biennial award for portraiture. Winners 'Three nights,..', 'Lucy', 'The Blue Girl','Hans','Meren and Josie', and 'Kayte' are in our on-line gallery and in the logo above.

image of Marty Welch and Denis Adam

Adam Award 2012

See the winner, other images, catalogue, prizegiving
closing & people's choice.
2012 Adam Portrait Award
NZ Portrait Gallery Shed 11 Wellington Waterfront
Thursday February 23 –April 10 10.30 – 4.30pm daily

Admission free 04 472 8874 www.portraitgallery.nzl.org

Pictured above are Denis Adam, benefactor, and Stephen Martin Welch, 2012 Adam Portraiture winner. Marty receives a certificate, cheque for $15,000 and congratulations.

New Zealand’s premier portraiture competition, The 2012 Adam Portrait Award, opened at the NZ Portrait Gallery on Thursday February 23rd-April 10.

This year’s initial judge was Louise Doyle, new Director of the Australian National Portrait Gallery in Canberra, who selected 86 portraits from around 300 entered. Family matters made it impossible for her to come to New Zealand and final judging was completed by Dr Christopher Chapman, Senior Curator at the National Australian Portrait Gallery.

Left column top to bottom are the commended paintings:
1. Self Portrait 6-2-11 by John Badcock of Geraldine.
2. Guy Capper on Skype by Sandro Kopp of Nairn, Scotland.
3. Ryan by Rik Schinkel of Morrinsville.
4. Unless.. [Ella Daynes] by Lee Byford-Daynes of Palmerston North.
5. Alexandra Chan by Nick Cuthell of Wellington.

After judging we said..... PRESS RELEASE

AUCKLAND ARTIST WINS 2012 ADAM PORTRAIT AWARD

An artist whose work comprised a major Portrait Gallery exhibition in 2008 is the winner of the 2012 Adam Portraiture Award.

A self-portrait entitled “3 Nights, A Mirror & Loads of Coffee” by Auckland-based artist Stephen Martyn Welch was selected for the $15,000 prize by Dr Christopher Chapman, senior curator of the Australian National Portrait Gallery in Canberra.

Dr Chapman, selecting the portrait from the 86 final entries, said that from a very strong field, the winning portrait displays a sense of mystery and psychological depth. “It is a highly accomplished and compelling self-portrait of a man reflecting on his sense of being”.

Stephen Marty Welch is a self-taught artist who has twice been a finalist in the Adam Award. His Portrait Gallery exhibition The Sitting in 2008/9 was based on a selection of portraits he did for a television series of the same name, during which he interviewed his subjects while painting them. His style is intimate, personal, and often shows the portrait face in disconcerting close-up.

Gallery Director Avenal McKinnon said that the award-winning portrait was a fine example of how tenacity, determination and artistic merit wins out. “We are delighted” she said, “that an artist whose work has been supported by this Gallery over a period of years, has won the country’s premier portrait award”.

There were 5 runners-up to the winner, and at the end of the exhibition a Peoples’ Choice Prize will also be awarded to the portrait gaining the most public votes over the duration of the exhibition.

Further information/ interviews Elizabeth Alley 04 970 8341 021 067 7049

Gallery director Avenal McKinnon says the selection this year is characterized by youth- both in terms of the subjects chosen and the new artists involved. There is an increased number of entrants from New Zealand artists working overseas, as well as more Māori and Polynesian artists. In addition there are portraits of a number of well-known figures – Dame Pat Evison, Dr Pita Sharples, and Ray Ahipene-Mercer among them. Catalogue. and see the paintings.

See conditions of entry and application form. (archival)

Adam Award 2010

See archival pages from 2010

 

Ownership of Adam Winners: A conditon of the Adam Award is that the The New Zealand Portrait Gallery keeps the winner of the Competition for its own collection. These cannot be permanently hung at present.

Documentation for entering the 2008 and 2010 competitions can be found on our archives page.

History

“The first Adam Award (then temporarily discontinued) was in 1990, soon after the Portrait Gallery had been incorporated as a Trust. At the time the Judge was the late Shona McFarlane, and the winner was Jo L’Estrange.”

In 2000 Marianne Muggeridge won the inaugural New Zealand Portrait Gallery's National Portrait Competition judged by Charles Saumarez Smith, Director of London's National Portrait Gallery.

She won again in 2002 in the renamed Adam Portraiture Award.

The name Adam Portraiture Award has been the name ever since. winner in 2004 was Ryuzo Nishida, judged by Dr Marc Pachter, Director of the National (Smithsonian) Portrait Gallery, Washington D.C. Ryuzo Nishida's Self Portrait was created from 12,000 acrylic painted nails, attached to canvas.

Marc Pachter also awarded a Highly Commended prize to Claudia McKay ( Wellington) and commended prizes to Sandro Kopp ( Wellington), Janet Muir ( Auckland), Sandra Wilson ( Lower Hutt), John Badcock ( Geraldine), Marianne Muggeridge ( Wellington) and Eleanor Wright (Auckland).”

The winner for 2006 was Freeman White, judged by James Holloway, Director of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh.

The winner in 2008 was Irene Ferguson with The Blue Girl.

The winner in 2010 was Harriet Bright with Kayte, judged by Andrew Sayers.
The inaugural 'People's Choice' winner was Mark Rutledge with Ray Columbus

The 2012 winner was Marty Welch with '3 Nights..' judged by Dr Christopher Chapman.
People's choice is yet to be decided. Your vote counts.

Other categories of The National Portrait Competition of 2000:
Sculpture - winner Terry Stringer
Multimedia - Sean Kerr
Photography - Janice Abo Cianis

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Last Updated: 2012-04-23